Westborough 5, Marlborough 2: Rangers get on the board with first baseball win

Monday

Apr 14, 2014 at 10:00 PMApr 15, 2014 at 1:08 PM

After an 0-4 start in 2014, it took coming back to Bauks Field for Westborough to get on track with a 5-2 win over Marlborough in windy conditions, dropping the Panthers to 3-1.

By Zach WardDaily News correspondent

MARLBOROUGH — The last time the Westborough baseball team had won a game before Monday it was playing at Kenny Bauks Memorial Field in Marlborough.That win in the season finale on May 20, 2013, snapped a 10-game losing streak and was one of only five for the Rangers all of last season.After an 0-4 start in 2014, it took coming back to Bauks Field for Westborough to get on track with a 5-2 win over Marlborough in windy conditions, dropping the Panthers to 3-1.The Rangers scored all five runs in the first inning and never looked back behind 6 2/3 solid innings from senior pitcher Jack Curtis."Getting off on the right foot and (being) able to chase their pitcher in the first inning was great," Westborough coach Scott Kittredge said. "We were able to capitalize on a few mistakes and we put the ball in play and came up with our biggest inning of the year. And it was able to stand up because Jack did a great job out there."The top of the first started off routinely for the Panthers, who were coming off 7-0 and 17-2 victories in their last two games. Starting pitcher Leo Coelho struck out Rangers lead-off hitter Scott Erickson on four pitches. But the next batter, Dylan Kehoe, lined one off of Coelho's glove for an infield single. Westborough first baseman Justin Marcy then reached first on a fielder's choice and Mike Power followed that with another infield single for the Rangers.With runners on first and second and two outs, catcher Connor Fitzgerald singled and registered Westborough's only run-scoring hit of the afternoon. An error and three walks led to the other four runs."I have to give all the credit to them," Marlborough coach Paul Duplessis said. "They're the ones who scored the five runs. Maybe a few plays we could have made but we didn't."It wasn't a glamorous game for the hitters on either side. There were seven combined walks and only two clear errors, but also a few misjudged balls in the outfield, including one in the fourth inning that led to a two-run double for Marlborough junior Kevin Scerra."The wind was awfully tough," Kittredge said. "So it wasn't necessarily the cleanest game, but by the same token the natural elements today were a major factor. I thought our defense was pretty good. We did have the one inning where they got their two runs where we were a little shaky, but overall we certainly made enough of the plays to hold them down.""I know we're a better baseball team in the field," Duplessis said. "I don't know about Westborough, but I assume they are (as well). I think with this wind … those pop-ups are tough to catch."Curtis recorded all but the last out for Westborough, which travels to Wachusett on Wednesday. Mike Power relieved him with two outs in the seventh and got Marlborough three-hitter John Rumney to ground out with runners on second and third. Curtis finished with no earned runs because of an error earlier in the fourth inning and he struck out three."I'm just glad I could get the ball down," Curtis said. "The first inning was huge. It's always so much easier to pitch with a lead."Power and Kehoe had the only multi-hit games for Westborough and Scerra and Brad Arsenault had the only extra base hits for either side, with a double apiece. Scerra pitched a two-hit shutout against Quabbin last Thursday and came in to pinch hit for Tim Smith in the fourth.Senior Garrett Harrington came in to relieve Coelho for Marlborough — which plays at Algonquin on Wednesday — with two outs in the top of the first and pitched 5 1/3, allowing just one hit."It was a tough loss," Harrington said. "We made those mental mistakes, but we'll get there next game."